Hope For Happiness
by KDN89
Summary: With his brother's wedding fast approaching, Takeru contemplates his own relationship with Hikari. How far have they come? How far will they go? Unfortunately, introspection and possibly even the wedding may be delayed when the groom and his best men are running for their lives. Follow-up to "Light and Lies". Takari with other canonical couples mentioned. T for alcohol and dialogue
1. Chapter 01: Girls' Night In

**A/N:** This is a follow-up to "Light and Lies" but can be read as a stand-alone without much confusion. Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 01: Girls' Night In**

"Here, Hikari. Open wide."

One of the major benefits of being close friends with the hostess of a sensational online cooking tutorial series was the taste-testing. Hikari Yagami felt a spoonful of moist western-style cake slip into her mouth and her eyes lit up like her Crest.

"Since Yamato is a quarter-French, I've been playing around with some European elements," Mimi explained. "If I can get the flavors and style right, I'll have both a recipe for the wedding as well as my dish for network auditions."

While her best friend enthusiastically gabbed on about her mentor's exceptional culinary skills, Miyako sat impatiently at the Ishidas' dining room table drumming her fingers. Having been informed of the American custom of "bachelor and bachelorette parties" by Miss Tachikawa, both Yamato and Sora were eager to plan respective Guys' and Girls' Nights but the evening was not as cut-loose or exhilarating as the younger Chosen had been led to believe.

"Are we really just staying in tonight?" she suddenly called out. "Ken said the older boys were preparing for at least one alcohol-induced hospitalization but we're not doing much with these bottles of wine."  
"Oh, you've got plenty of whine, Miyako," Mimi playfully chastised before plopping a plate of baked gold onto the table. "Plus it's Sora's wedding. If she wants a quiet night indoors to dish about the boys, we're having a quiet night indoors to dish about the boys."

"Then let's dish about the boys!" Miyako brightened up, hastily refilling their wine glasses to loosen some tongues.

"Okay then, Miyako," Sora giggled excessively, her face a bright red. The grown-up Child of Love was a one-drink maximum pushing four glasses at the moment. Many believed her low-alcohol tolerance was God's gift to help her endure the antics of both man-children that were her soon-to-be husband and her longstanding best friend. "So is _gentle_ Ken still _gentle_ behind closed doors?"

The lavender-haired girl felt her blush building despite only a handful of sips of wine. Waving her hands frantically, she deflected the inquiry with, "Wouldn't you'd rather hear more about Hikari and Takeru?"

In the kitchen, Taichi's sister spat out her drink in surprise. Mimi peered into the mixing bowl in front of Hikari before muttering, "I guess the next cake is going to be alcoholic now" and adding copious amounts of liquor.

"That's right! It's been over a year now and you two had that promise, right, Hikari?" Sora beamed, attempting to clap gleefully but her palms missed one another. "So how devilish have our two angels gotten?"  
Miyako sheepishly shot her best friend and apologetic look for throwing her underneath the bus. Hikari, however, missed this silent plead for forgiveness as she was now face down in the mixing bowl, shoveling spatula after spatula of unbaked courage into her gob.  
When the young Yagami emerged from the batter and toweled herself off, she was beet-red, although none of the girls could determine whether it was from embarrassment or the Parisian cognac Yamato "accidentally" left behind at the apartment now seeping into the flour and eggs.

"The One Year date was great but we didn't actually do. . . it, " she explained as her hand crept once more for the spatula. Mimi softly slapped the younger girl's hand away before dumping the contents of the mixing bowl into the sink.  
"Wha'?_ *hic*_," the pending Mrs. Ishida drawled, one more glass vanished like she was a human Nanimon. "Promises are supposed to be kept, _*hic*-_ari."

"I know and I was ready," the younger Chosen admitted bashfully, "but Takeru seems so preoccupied lately that I didn't want to push it if both our hearts weren't 100% into it."  
"What's got Takeru so riled up that it overrides his teenage hormones?" Miyako pressed, both curious and shocked. "I mean, if Ken so much as touches my elbow, his mind goes blank from blood loss."  
"I think you just got your answer, Sora," teased Mimi, eliciting giggle from Miss Takenouchi and a bright blush from Miss Inoue.

"No offense, but I think it's the wedding that's bothering him," Hikari suggested, anxiously staring into the depths of her glass. Chancing a glance at her hostess, the young brunette found not a scowl but a broad grin plastered to Sora's face. With a relieved sigh, she continued, "He doesn't talk about it much, but his parents' divorce defined his childhood as well as a lot of concerns about love and relationships. I think he's just uneasy about the idea of another Ishida marriage."

Sora continued beaming and Hikari pondered if any of her words had registered at all until her senior leaned forward and jutted her index finger at the young Yagami.

"Tell Takeru not to worry _*hic*_ cause I'm the Child. . . Woman. . . of Love," Sora declared cheerfully with a wave of the hand and some involuntary swaying. "Yamato and I are gonna be the _*hic* _the first stable Ishida marriage and Takeru won't have to worry so much. We'll have babies and they'll have a Gabu-_*hic*_-mon and a Biyomon and a Gabiyomon and a uh. . . uh. . . ."

Evidently, leaning forward to address her junior Chosen was too drastic a shift in equilibrium for Sora. That or that sixth glass of wine. With a slump and a THUMP, Yamato's fiancée fell face-first into the living room carpet. Silence and tension permeated through the air, dissipated only when a muffled snoring could be heard from beneath the hostess' head of auburn hair.

"Miyako, can you carry Sora over to her bed?" Mimi requested as she met Hikari's eyes, nodding her head towards the dining room table so that they could both take a seat.  
The two sat in silence with the exception of Miyako's grunting as she unceremoniously tugged on Sora's leg to drag her to the bedroom. When the lavender-haired girl's groaning sounded far enough away, the rising cooking star abruptly announced with a small smile on her lips:

"You know, Koushiro used to worry he wouldn't be able to raise his own daughter."

Hikari blinked absentmindedly in awe of the gravity of something so random.  
"His adoptive parents are wonderful but the rest of Koushiro's biological family generally ignore his existence, which is why he was taken in by such a distant relative, someone thrice removed from his father" she elaborated, her tone calm but acknowledging a latent sadness. "When his own flesh and blood has been apathetic to him for nineteen years, how is he supposed to emotionally connect to the next generation of that same family?"

"Thing is, recently when Koushiro finally had to face his fears," Mimi continued, perking up, "instead of cowering, he said he'd take what he learned from his adoptive father and build a family that could rely on him." Tears pooled in her eyes as she finished, "I'd never been prouder than when he told me he'd find some way to relate to his daughter so that he wouldn't be absent from her life as well."

"Mimi, that's wonderful," beamed Hikari. "But what do you meant Koushiro had to face his fe-"  
An innocent glance at Mimi's glass caused the truth to hit the teenage girl like a sack of potatoes.

_Has she been drinking only orange juice all night?_

"Mimi, are you-"

Glowing with a radiant grin, the young chef explained, "We're waiting to tell everyone. Didn't want to steal the spotlight from the first Chosen wedding."

"Point of the story," she abruptly declared, patting the tears away with her sleeve, "is that sooner than later, Takeru will have to confront the anxieties of his own childhood, just like Koushiro and most likely Yamato did. And we both know that like Yamato and Koushiro, Takeru will make the right choice when that time comes."  
"Thanks, Mimi," Hikari meekly smiled back.

After receiving more congratulatory doting from Taichi's sister, the internet idol excused herself from the table to check in on their inebriated hostess and her disgruntled caretaker. Leaning back, Hikari slowly exhaled. Some of the stress remained, but her senior was right: she trusted her boyfriend's judgment. And like Sora and Mimi, she would be there to support her paladin as he faced his own demons.

PING!  
Midnight messages on the D-Terminal. Hikari casually flipped the device open.  
_Speak of the devil._

**whenpigsfly:** Well good evening, beautiful. And here I though angels rose and retreated with the sun like the brilliant lights they are  
**PinkPixie:** Hey, save the sappy mush for when we're in person and I can mush your cheeks  
**whenpigsfly:** Ok, but you can only squish _my_ cheeks if my words don't make _your_ cheeks blush  
**PinkPixie:** Mimi's wondering why I'm giggling loudly from the next room over  
**PinkPixie: **Can't wait though :)  
**whenpigsfly: **Sudden topic change! How's your night going?  
**PinkPixie:** Lol you're so weird! Writers need better transitions than that!  
**PinkPixie: **But Girls Night has been pretty tame. Little awkward for a few minutes there but quiet again now. Still find it odd how Sora's demeanor flips with a little alcohol. Are you having fun with the boys?  
**whenpigsfly:** It's been a relatively good night, kind of hectic but that was expected to a degree  
**whenpigsfly: **Our brothers and I are trapped in the Digital World though

**A/N:** Due to holiday-related social obligations and an increased workload, this story is going to be updated at a relatively slower pace than the first one. I'll do my best to release the chapters as soon as possible without compromising the narrative, but bare with me :)


	2. Chapter 02: Guys' Night Out

**Chapter 02: Guys' Night Out**

With the boon of digivice-wielders following the fall of MaloMyotismon, Starmon's former-ghost town was revitalized by tourism until a gaggle of Old West digimon decided to take up a permanent residence. Now the sheriff's saloon bustled with newfound energy and chatter, the majority of which was centralized around the card table where one of the Chosen he encountered long ago was battling it out with the locals and a posh passing city-slicker.

Sweating anxiously, Daisuke left his hand lingering over his opponent's cards. Never had a game of Old Maid been so nerve-racking.  
_Why did I suggest we move the party to the Digital World? Why did I agree to this bet?_

"Choose carefully, Daisuke," the groom playfully reminded his protégé. "Remember, loser covers everyone's bar tab for the night."  
"I know PrinceMamemon was the one boasting his wealth and gambling skills, but did we really have to push Daisuke into taking up that bet?" Ken asked.  
"Hey, if he and Koushiro didn't drink everything Taichi and I bought for the party, we wouldn't have had to jump to the Digital World where saloons don't card minors," Yamato reminded the high school student. "Besides, it's not like you and Iori are drinking tonight, right?"  
Ken shuddered. He remembered a little more than a year ago, his brain screeching like a howler monkey before he discovered several unflattering doodles scribbled on his skin. "No, never again."  
"See, Daisuke, there's two less tabs you have to pay if you lose," Yamato beamed.  
"Thanks, Ken" was all the appreciation the goggle-head could muster. A cursory glance at his hand revealed he had drawn the joker.

"Hey, Yamato, your brother's playing with the ring again," Taichi noted with a nod towards the bar where Takeru was fiddling with a small box in his hands.  
"Seriously?" his best friend groaned, finally breaking his attention away from the game. "I know I told him to hold onto it for safekeeping but what is his fascination with that thing?"

* * *

Takeru flipped open the velvet box.  
Nestled within the silk-lined padding sat an elegant silver band adorning three diamonds, the center stone double the size of its companions. His brother had commissioned for the Crest of Love to be engraved into the heart of the largest jewel, but for the life of him, Takeru couldn't find it whenever he peered into the shimmering rock.  
_Seems kind of ridiculous to pay for beauty no one will ever see.  
_Then again, the wedding band the young blonde was scrutinizing had been paid for by Yamato's cut of his band's tour last year. Poetic whimsies were less absurd and more romantic when you had ample scratch to satiate them.  
_Maybe if three publishers in a row hadn't shot my novel down. . . .  
_The teenage Takaishi shut the box with a resigned sigh.

"You okay, Takeru?" a voice inquired from beside him. "You seem distracted."  
"Yeah, weddings just make me nervous is all," Takeru admitted sheepishly. Taking a small swig of his beer, he added, "Not drinking tonight, Iori?"  
"Nah," the youngest Chosen shook his head. "With Jou off earning his medical degree and Koushiro out of commission for the night, someone has to help Ken stay sober and keep watch."  
The teenager face-planting the bar surface beside them murmured a weary, "Prodigous. . . ."  
"What was he celebrating with Daisuke earlier anyways?" Takeru wondered as he threw an incredulous glance at the incapacitated Izumi.  
"I'm not sure, but it must have been something big if it turned Koushiro into Taichi," Iori remarked.

"Why, the first Chosen wedding of course. What else is it going to be?" Yamato sauntered over with an ear-to-ear grin. Mischievously, he added to the younger Takaishi, "By the way, you should put that ring away before we have to celebrate the _second_ Chosen wedding."  
Face flushed, Takeru tucked the box back into his left pocket. The elder Ishida placed his hand reassuringly on his little brother's shoulder. "I'm just joking. I know you're having trouble handling the wedding. Breath and process it at your own pace, Takeru."  
Exhaling slowly, Takeru managed to give his older sibling a relieved smile as Yamato handed him a new beer and clinked glasses.

"I'm glad you're enjoying your 'bachelor party', Yamato, but shouldn't you be keeping an eye on the other with all these digimon around?" Iori pressed worriedly  
"Eh. Ken's got 'em covered," Yamato shrugged between gulps. " Besides, unlike Koushiro here, our two fearless leaders can handle themselves."  
"Actually we may want to intervene soon," the brunette observed as he leapt off the bar stool.  
"What are you tal—"

"SMILEY WARHEAD!"

"TERRA FORCE!"

* * *

"Get the digimon through the portal! Hurry!"

Through the alcohol-fueled haze of jumbled thoughts, Daisuke still managed to assume his leadership role in a crisis.

PrinceMamemon, perennial sore loser and owner of a bar tab bordering one million digidollars, was in hot pursuit and WarGreymon, the only partner digimon capable of digivolving to mega due to his partner's excessive (liquid) courage, could only hold him back for a few more and Iori had already dragged Koushiro's passed out form through the gate, but as the thunderous clash grew louder and louder, the intrepid Motomiya was doing his best to corral the remaining partner digimon into the TV and back to the Real World.

"Come on, Wormmon!" he boomed. As Takeru scooped up the terrified rookie and unceremoniously heaved him across the threshold, Daisuke muttered, "How can someone with so many legs be so slow?"

"Taichi! I can't maintain this much longer!" WarGreymon called out as he rushed toward the Chosen children awaiting him at the gate. Almost on cue, his power quickly faded and an exhausted Agumon fell onto the dirt road with an "OOF!", his opponent closing in quickly.

"Gabumon, do you have enough energy to digivolve?" Yamato pleaded.  
"I think I can muster," his partner dared, and with a concentrated effort managed, "GABUMON DIGIVOLVE TO GARURUMON!"  
Pulling Taichi onto the dire wolf with him, Yamato darted off down the road, hoping to intercept the orange lizard before the mutant digimon could finish him off.

"Daisuke, jump through and check on the others," Takeru directed. "I can hold the gate from this side."  
"If I don't bring you back, Hikari's going to kill me!" the goggle-head answered. He held no enthusiasm for abandoning his friends.  
"If I don't bring Yamato back, there are two women and Dad who will kill me," the blonde chuckled. Atop his head, Patamon nodded in agreement.

Garurumon skidded as Taichi extended his arm out to his digimon's claw. With a great heave, he hoisted Agumon onto Garurumon's back, narrowly dodging another Smiley Warhead.

"I know you don't like the idea of leaving us behind, but Veemon already crossed over while carrying Gomamon. You're defenseless right now, Daisuke," Yamato's brother reminded him. "We'll be a few minutes tops."  
His leader hesitated. With a frustrated sigh, he relented. "Alright, but no heroics, Takeru!" he ordered before entering the gate.

Garurumon was only a few feet away when his vitality gave away. With their ride dedigivolved to the rookie stage, Taichi and Yamato quickly grabbed hold of their digimon partners and sprinted for the portal. PrinceMamemon tailed them by a few feet, the distance shortening by the second.

"Takeru, shut it down!" Taichi called over his shoulder as he leapt into the TV. Yamato caught his brother's wrist as followed suit, forcefully dragging him across the closing gate.

Their escape came to an abrupt halt with a booming CRASH! and before the three humans or their digimon could react, the inter-dimensional tunnel tore open beneath them.

* * *

**whenpigsfly:** When Taichi updated the others to let them know we were ok, Ken assumed that PrinceMamemon bashed the TV in a fit of anger and with the connection between worlds disrupted, we just got dropped off wherever we happened to be passing through at the time  
**PinkPixie:** And you're sure it's the Digital World? Not some third or fourth dimension like the Dark Ocean or Super Crazy Wish World?  
**whenpigsfly:** Er. . . 90% sure. There's color and things are coherent  
**whenpigsfly:** Patamon says he just spotted some "Kapurimon" while scouting overhead so 95% sure now  
**PinkPixie:** Is there another gate nearby? I'll come get you!  
**whenpigsfly:** Not one that the D-3 is picking up  
**whenpigsfly:** Taichi and Yamato also don't want to explore until the digimon have rested up so it looks like we're settling in for the night  
**whenpigsfly:** Taichi says to check if Koushiro has a tracking program for the digivices if Mimi doesn't kill him in the morning  
**PinkPixie:** Ok but try not to get into any more trouble before I rescue you. . . .  
**whenpigsfly:** Heh you're awfully adamant about being my deus ex machina  
**PinkPixie: **"The adventure is less fulfilling if the damsel-in-distress is comfortable" ;)  
**Whenpigsfly: **. . .  
**PinkPixie:** Hey, if you keep insisting I'm an angel, I'm going to be a guardian angel :)  
**PinkPixie:** Just stay safe until morning, okay? I love you :)  
**whenpigsfly:** Mk, will do. Sweet dreams, Hikari. Love you too :)

Takeru flipped his D-Terminal closed. Instinctively, his hand reached into his right pocket and grasped the small box it found there.  
_Guardian angel, huh?  
_Something about the tactile sensation of the box lifted his spirits.  
_Are you going to be my guardian angel forever, Hikari?_


	3. Chapter 03: Good Ol' Reliable Koushiro

**Chapter 03: Good Ol' Reliable Koushiro**

Ken woke up fifteen minutes ago, but with his body aching and mind screaming, he refused to stay that way for long. His glorious return to sleep, however, was obstructed by a soft rapping on the apartment door.  
Burying his face further into the crevice between couch back and cushion, he prayed the soft padding would stifle the tedious noise.

Taptaptap. "Ken?"

_Just ignore it.  
_Ignorance was indeed bliss. Ignorance was one of humanity's greatest innovations in self-preservation.  
But despite the comfy cushions in his ears, Ken could make out from across the threshold a distinct "Move aside, Hikari! A soft knock won't solve anything!"

BOOM!

The door rattled, its hinges groaning as they clung to the frame for dear life.  
His exhaustion quickly fleeting, Ken vaulted the back of the couch and sprinted for the door.  
_Ignorance may be the death of me._

Outside, Miyako's second THUMP! was followed by skittish sounds of a rattling chain lock and a fumbling doorknob. The door flew open to reveal the young Ichijouji smiling sheepishly. With a quick dart of the eyes, he noticed that their apartment key was protruding from the bottom of his girlfriend's fist.  
_Guess breaking the door down is faster than unlocking it. . . .  
_Once his minute internal moaning subsided, however, he smiled sincerely.  
_My hotheaded girlfriend._

"Hi, sweetheart. Welcome ho-"  
"Sorry, love you too but it's an emergency!" Miyako apologized over her shoulder as she bolted by. Trickling in behind her were Mimi and Hikari tailed by their Digimon. As the group of girls and Hawkmon offered more polite hellos, Miykao scoured their living room for the smartest Chosen, who was apparently too stupid to not get wasted in an overly dangerous environment.

Finding him face-down in their loveseat, limbs pouring over its edges, she grabbed the back of his collar and forcefully tugged, although he failed to budge. "Koushiro, get up! Getupgetupgetup!"

"Geez, Miyako, do you have to scream so loud this early in the day," Daisuke demanded as he stirred awake in an irritable mood. As his eyes twitched open, he slowly checked his watch, uttering, "I mean it's only. . . 11:00AM." Despite his protests, Miyako continued nagging away at their unconscious friend and the brunette resigned himself to the fate of the hungover.

"Daisuke, you okay?" Hikari implored, handing him a glass of water from the kitchen. "Thanks for taking care of the boys last night. Takeru says everyone's safe, even on their end."  
"No problem," the gogglehead groaned, accepting the glass with one hand while the other clasped the side of his aching noggin as reality pushed and prodded at his brain. With a sip and a great effort, he counted up the heads in the room before pondering aloud, "Hey, where's Sora?"  
"We left Biyomon to watch over her at home until she recovers from the wine," Taichi's sister explained. "We figured we should hold off telling her that her fiancé, best friend, and future brother-in-law were in danger until _after_ cognition returns."

"Well we won't have to tell her they went missing at all if Koushiro would just get up!" Miyako declared impatiently. With both hands wrapped around Koushiro's ankle, she heaved him off the loveseat and onto the ground. Her efforts, however, were met only with the redhead mumbling, "Tentomon. . . help. Being abducted. . . ."

An equally groggy Insect Digimon from across the room unceremoniously declared "Super. . . Shocker" before chucking Koushiro's laptop recharge cord in the general direction of the loud noises. Miyako and her prey watched the cable softly hit the carpet five feet away from them and with a "Thanks, Tento. . . .", the latter slammed his face back into the living room floor.

He may have loved her hotblooded attitude, but Ken knew that look in his girlfriend's eyes. He saw an inferno building in them that could only mean he would be spending the afternoon lying to the police about the location of Koushiro's body. But before he could interject into their struggle, the only fully-conscious senior step forth, arms crossed and a rage that dwarfed Miyako's seeping from the corners of her normally playful demeanor.

"Izumi Koushiro, if you do not get up right now and save your friends, I will find a more responsible man to raise this child!" Mimi huffed with her arms crossed. With a smug facade, she added, "I hear Jou's pretty reliable."

Within seconds, Koushiro was tapping away frantically at his keyboard as his girlfriend threw their friends a sly grin.

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAUGH!"

Yamato bolted upright from his disturbing slumber, eyes shaking. The mad dream was fading but not the terror or nausea.  
An elegant ceremony, their friends aligned in rows along the pews.  
His fingers intertwined with the bride's.  
The minister coughed to clear his throat.  
With this signal, he pulled back the veil to peer deep into the eyes of-

"Hey, Yamato, you OK?"

His breathing slowing, the blonde turned to meet the concerned face of his best friend and the blushing bride from his nightmare.  
_Damn it, Agumon and Gabumon. Stop putting weird thoughts in my head. . . ._

"Yeah, just a horrific dream," he reassured Taichi, although he failed to suppress a quick shudder. his shoulders relaxed. His calm returning and his mind settling, Yamato finally took in the lush forest landscape encompassing them. The fledgling generations of Chosen may shirk at the perils the woodlands would pose, but after so many adventure tromping through them with friends and family, they were a welcome and familiar sight. "Still," he chuckled, "I wish this was all a part of the dream too."

"Yeah, well, nothing we haven't handled before," Taichi noted with a grin. "Hope you're comfy though, cause it might be a while before Koushiro can locate an active port for us."  
"Actually, Patamon says he saw a town just beyond the forest's edge while scouting overhead earlier," Takeru cheerfully piped in. "It's a bit of a hike but we can refuel and rest up there while we wait."  
"Sounds like a plan," Yamato agreed as he got to his feet. "Should probably make sure we have everything before we head out though."

"Right," Taichi nodded. "All the Digimon present and accounted for?"  
Their digital companions sounded off. "Here!" "Check!" "Right!"  
"Digivices?" the brunette listed off, to which the brothers replied "Yup!" in unison.

"Takeru, you still have the ring?" the older blonde inquired.  
Fishing the small box from his right pocket, Takeru lightly tossed the velvet container to the pending groom.  
With a sigh of relief, Yamato cracked the box open only for his anxiety return tenfold.

A thin white-gold band capped with a modest stone. The inner tract was lightly inscribed with DigiCode, and while illegible without a cipher, Yamato could still make out a few words shared with a prophecy from almost a decade before.

"Hope and light."

He shut the box with a little more force and frustration than he had intended.

". . . This isn't Sora's ring."

Yamato's best man suddenly became painfully aware of the weight in his left pocket. Extracting the second compact box, Takeru gulped as he hesitantly pried it open.  
An elegant silver band adorning three diamonds, the center stone double the size of its companions. With a powerful enough microscope, Takeru bet he could find the Crest of Love on it too.

Taichi hurriedly blurted out "Wait, what's this then?" before reaching over and plucking the first box from Yamato's hands. And despite the latter's resistance, the Yagami son still managed to open the container and peek at the contents.  
Contrary to his best friend's reaction, however, Taichi's was simply a surprised "Oh."

"Hold up!" Yamato barked as he snatched the foreign ring back. Rounding on his brother, the older Ishida waved it in the air, his temper rising.

"Takeru, what the hell is this?"

**A/N:** Fun fact, but I actually looked into it and bugs apparently can get drunk. Who knew, huh?  
Also, sorry for the short chapter after such a long delay! If anyone was wondering about the delay, shortly after the New Year I started a business and the associated work and headache has been steadily building more and more. While the paperwork is winding down, hopefully I can get the next chapter up sooner than, ya know, 3 months. . . .


	4. Chapter 04: When Reality Hits

**Chapter 04: When Reality Hits  
**

Takeru clutched his forehead. Beneath his palm, he could feel a throbbing pulse permeating through a dull ache.  
_How has Taichi's face not gone permanently numb from all those thumps on the head? Maybe there's a dent buried under all that hair or something. . . ._

"How's the battle wounds, kiddo?"

His girlfriend's elder brother plopped himself beneath the shade of the digital oak tree, leaning back against the bark for better support. Aside from his scuffle with Yamato, Taichi had been eerily calm throughout the morning and internally Takeru debated if that was more comforting or unnerving.

"Can't say I'm used to it, but I've been in a fist fight or two," the junior chuckled. "Usually with Dai over bad plays on the court or with random guys trying to edge in on Hika."

His smile widened. A mixture of awe and regret echoed in his voice.

"Never with Yamato though."

* * *

"Answer me, Takeru!"

Yamato never had the calmest reaction to startling news, but it was significantly more terrifying when, on this isolated instance, his fury was directed towards his brother and not his best friend. And although Takeru, a writer of flowing dialogue, generally disapproved of stammering, his brother's booming inquiry failed to warrant an alternative response; the young Takaishi anxiously uttered, "W-well, it's a-an en—"

"I swear, if you say 'an engagement ring'. . . ." his brother huffed.

"—an anti-breaking-up-forever. . . ring. . . ." Takeru's forced smile twitched so hard that Taichi pondered if his potential-brother-in-law was having a stroke.

Shaking with a building rage, Yamato's free hand balled into a fist. "You think this is a joke? You don't see how serious this is?"

'Whoawhoawhoa, rein it in, Yamato," their leader intervened, stepping in between the blonde brothers. "It's not like you were that much older than Takeru when you proposed to Sora."

"Yeah, but Sora and I had been dating for five years before then! I knew better and Takeru should too!" Yamato spat back. "Just because you're indifferent to your sister's future, Taichi, doesn't mean I'm going to let my brother ruin his!"

A hurried, indignant "Andwhatthehellisthatsupposedtomean,youjerk?" was muffled by equally rushed footsteps as Taichi charged at his best friend and decked him in the jaw. In the nine years of their friendship, neither Taichi nor Yamato had learned to block or evade; in this fight, like all the others, they instinctively aimed for any vulnerable spots that emerged, striking quickly. Words flew about with the punches:  
"Not every family is as lucky as yours, Taichi!"  
"The only one who thinks they'll fail is you!"  
"Pompous hairpiece!"  
"Ego-maniacal delinquent!"

Takeru would have intervened earlier if he hadn't been so enthralled by the vernacular the duo built up just to insult one another. It was only when his leader pinned his brother down and raised his fist for a heavy shot to the face that the younger Chosen stepped forth and struggled to drag his girlfriend's brother off his own.

Unfortunately for Hikari's boyfriend, however, he failed to notice that Yamato's arm was already in mid-swing, and the punch meant for Taichi found a new target.

* * *

"Ah well, a few bumps and bruises can be good for you every now and then," Taichi chuckled as Takeru massage his temple. "As for Yamato, best to leave him be for awhile. Let him cool off."  
"I certainly did give him a lot to mull over," the younger Chosen admitted with a weak smile.  
The pair sat quietly for a moment before the elder blurted out:

"Hey, Takeru, why did your brother say you should know better?"

For a minute, the question lingered in the air and Taichi worried his tactless inquiry had only prolonged the silence. Then Takeru slowly began, "You know how Yamato always brags about the Ishida Charm? What he fails to mention is that it balances out with the Ishida Curse."  
His audience blinked in awed before the solemn Takaishi continued.  
"Our parents had met at a news conference and were almost immediately involved. Started out, engaged, and married all in the same year. Yamato born the year after. Real whirlwind romance."  
Takeru smiled grimly.  
"But whirlwinds pass and leave a lot of things broken in their wake.  
"Mom's side generally holds up okay," his voice and smile softened. "You met Grandpa Michel. Still married, still off having adventures. But the Ishida side of things? Our grandparents were married on impulse the day they met and now Grandma Kinu lives alone after her ex-husband absconded to who knows where. And supposedly his parents followed a similar pattern. Once per generation, some poor Ishida couple ends up like Mom and Dad."

"And now your brother's worried what will happen if you rush things with Hikari," Taichi surmised, finally understanding two of his closest companions a little better.  
"Yes, sir. Hopefully I'll luck out as a Takaishi," chuckled Takeru.

"Maybe," his senior agreed. As Taichi rose to his feet, he added, "One step at a time though. First we fetch your brother. Then we get out. Then you both can spaz about you getting married."

The gogglehead barely walked ten feet before he heard, "Taichi, how did your parents' relationship play out?"  
He turned to face his best friend's brother and saw a spark in his blue eyes.

A glimmer of hope.

Taichi sheepishly grinned, the corner of his mouth flickering between pride and humility.  
"A lot like your parents actually," he calmly explained. "Met and married young. Really the only difference is that they somehow endured, even with the lethal cooking."

Reaching into his back pocket, the brunette dredged up a small box he fleeced off Yamato during their brawl. Lightly throwing it back to Takeru, he cheered, "Hopefully if you end up with a Yagami, it'll negate the whole Ishida Curse thing."

Turning on his heel, Taichi declared with a wave of the hand, "If it's any consolation, I have faith in you two. With a little work we can bring your brother around too."  
And as his girlfriend's brother departed, Takeru was left to consider the gamble bound within the box in his hands.

**A/N:** "Still Alive" by GLaDOS


End file.
